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blueprint and give them the big sell. But she told me what she felt was possible and she believed that this day would come. Now, if you would have told me back then that one day Katie Taylor would be headlining a sold-out Madison Square Garden, I would have said that’s adventurous, even by my standards.” Yet Taylor and Serrano pulled it off on April 30, 2020. Yes, Serrano was a seven-division titleholder at this point and a popular fighter in the United
suggests, but I was never hurt in there and I have a very good chin. Of course, it wasn’t a good round for me, but I just had to regroup, reset and get back to the game plan, and I think I did that in the next round.” Taylor did rebound, and the war continued, back and forth, with the two trading momentum from minute to minute. It was enough to make trainer Ross Enamait lose his hair if he didn’t already have a shaved head.
as close – and controversial – as that verdict was, both fighters were all class after the final bell, showing an entirely new audience that female boxers weren’t just talented and gritty, but good role models for young women everywhere. So they had to do it again, right? Right. Unfortunately, the boxing business reared its ugly head again, and Taylor and Serrano wouldn’t throw hands with each other for another two- and-a-half years.
States and Puerto Rico, but it took Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion, to make the fight happen. Much like Canelo Alvarez, Taylor reached the point in her career where she was able to call her shots. Whenever she did, the women standing across the ring from her experienced life-changing paydays and worldwide exposure. Now it was Serrano’s turn, and for the pair’s trouble, they would each receive a $1 million check. All that was left was the fight, and while expectations were
In the meantime, Taylor beat Karen Carabajal and went 1-1 with Chantelle Cameron at 140 pounds, losing for the first time as a pro. Serrano kept winning, going 5-0 while becoming undisputed featherweight champion and campaigning unsuccessfully for the rematch with Taylor to be fought over 12 three-minute rounds. Finally, the fight was set for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 20, 2024, but when the headliner between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed, Taylor-Serrano 2
Taylor was such a visionary, telling Hearn that one day women would be fighting big fights in big venues, making big paydays.
F ifty years after Hall of Fame boxing scribe Jerry Izenberg witnessed what many still believe is the greatest fight of all time, the third clash between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975, two other boxers laced up the gloves for the third time to close out a trilogy that was also fought for the championship of each other. Yes, there were many belts on the line, but it really didn’t matter at this point for Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. When they entered the ring in a packed Madison Square Garden on July 11, it was a fight to settle once and for all who the better woman is. On paper, Taylor had already won the battles and the war, having defeated Serrano via split decision in 2022 and unanimous decision in 2024. But these were no mere fights and no mere results. Many believed it could have been Serrano up 2-0 heading into their third meeting or, at the very least,
All three Taylor-Serrano showdowns filled the house.
a 1-1 stalemate. As for the first two fights, they were game-changers. If die-hard followers of the sport – the male side – find it sacrilegious to put Taylor and Serrano in the same conversation as Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield, Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, and the rest of boxing’s greatest trilogies, consider that none of those three-fight series changed the landscape of the sport quite like Taylor-Serrano did for women’s boxing. Ireland’s Taylor signed with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing when she came out of her second Olympic Games in 2016, and her star continued to rise as she was fast-tracked to a world title by her seventh pro fight. Puerto Rico’s Serrano had quite a different road to the biggest fight – and payday – of her life. With little amateur experience, Serrano learned her craft on the job as a pro, fighting anyone, anywhere at any weight. By the
that it was going to be a good one, I don’t think anyone expected it to be a great one. And “great” may not cover it. Why? Think of what is considered a great fight: It usually involves heated exchanges, high-level technique and drama. In women’s boxing, the historic knock is that you might get one of those aspects, maybe two, but never all three. Yet on the biggest stage in the sport, Taylor and Serrano delivered. Again, a lot of that had to do with Taylor. A fast and effective boxer when she wants to be, Taylor also has a warrior’s heart, so if you hit her, she wants to hit you back immediately, game plan be damned. Early on, Serrano hit Taylor and boxing went out the window. In the fifth round, Serrano’s power started to take its toll, and a stoppage seemed imminent. Not that Taylor agrees. “I don’t think I was as hurt as some people think in that round,” said Taylor after the fight. “She is obviously a good puncher, like her record
“I think Ross is used to that by now,” Taylor laughed in a post-fight interview with The Ring. “I’m never afraid to have a tear-up. I love to stand and have a fight, even if it’s not the smartest thing to do sometimes, but you just get caught up in the moment and want to go toe-to-toe with your opponent. I knew coming into this fight that there would be times when I would have to dig deep and go into the trenches, but I enjoy that. You can’t be a great fighter unless you have the heart of a champion, and over the years I think I’ve shown I have that.” Taylor planted her feet and traded with Serrano in the closing moments of the fight, and “The Real Deal” nearly sent her to a knee in the process. Some saw that as enough to prove Serrano’s superiority on this night, but only judge Benoit Roussel agreed, scoring the fight 96-94 for the Brooklynite. Judges Glenn Feldman and Guido Cavalleri overruled him by scores of 97-93 and 96-93, respectively, and Taylor had the win.Yet
was pushed to November 15, 2024. Aired on Netflix, the fight was going to be the most viewed in women’s boxing history, and the paydays were even higher, allegedly topping $6 million for each combatant. All good news before the opening bell, but when it rang, could it possibly match or top the first fight? Yeah, it did. Arguably even more visceral the second time around, Serrano jumped on Taylor in the first round, rocked her and nearly dropped the champion, now defending her 140-pound titles. Again, Taylor rebounded and started brawling. This time, the infighting was marred by several head clashes, one of which opened a nasty cut over Serrano’s right eye, while another prompted Taylor to get docked a point on the scorecards. But neither backed down. Taylor waded into the fray recklessly while Serrano ignored the blood streaming down her face to give as good as she got. When 10 rounds were completed, it
dawn of 2017, the Brooklyn resident was a four-division titleholder making $17,500 for a Showtime-televised win over Yazmin Rivas. That was women’s boxing in those years. There were a couple haves and a lot more have-nots. The difference here is that the haves wanted the have-nots to join them, and they were willing to take the risks necessary to ensure that all the women got what they deserved. Taylor was such a visionary, telling Hearn that one day women would be fighting big fights in big venues, making big paydays. “What was quite unique about that situation was she was kind of selling the idea to me,” Hearn told me before the first Taylor-Serrano bout. “Normally, I’ll sit down with a fighter and put out a
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